The working memory model

Question 1

who created the WMM?

Answer 1

Baddeley & Hitch (1974)

Question 2

why was the WMM created?

Answer 2

to replace the STM store of the MSM due to criticisms

Question 3

what were the criticisms of the STM from the MSM

Answer 3

STM must be more complex than a single unitary store that only exists to pass information on to LTM
STM must be an active processer, holding multiple different types of information simultaneously while being worked on

Question 4

what is the central executive?

Answer 4

‘head of the model’ controls attention
receives sense information and filters this before passing on to sub systems

Question 5

features of the central executive

Answer 5

coding: all types of information
capacity: limited to 4 items - works on one type of information at a time but can switch attention between different inputs

Question 6

what is the phonological loop?

Answer 6

temporarily retains language-based information

Question 7

what does the phonological loop consist of?

Answer 7

phonological store
articulatory process

Question 8

features of the phonological loop

Answer 8

coding: auditory information - acoustically
capacity: limited - what can be said in 2 secs (word length effect)

Question 9

what is the phonological store?

Answer 9

stores auditory speech information in the way it was heard - inner ear

Question 10

what is the articulatory process?

Answer 10

stores words heard/seen and silently repeats (maintenance rehearsal) - inner voice

Question 11

auditory information passes from the central executive to…

Answer 11

the phonological loop

Question 12

what is the visuo-spatial sketchpad?

Answer 12

temporarily retains visual and spatial information - inner eye

Question 13

what does the visuo-spatial sketchpad consist of?

Answer 13

visual cache
inner scribe

Question 14

features of the visuo-spatial sketchpad

Answer 14

coding: visual information
capacity: limited - 3-4 objects

Question 15

what is the visual cache?

Answer 15

a passive store of form and colour

Question 16

what is the inner scribe?

Answer 16

active store holding the relationships between objects in 3D space

Question 17

visual information passes from the central executive to…

Answer 17

the visuo-spatial sketchpad

Question 18

what component of the WMM was added later?

Answer 18

Episodic buffer was added in 2000

Question 19

what is the episodic buffer?

Answer 19

general store
combines and collects information from the CE, PL and VSS to record an event
it then transfers information to the LTM and is used to retrieve information from the LTM to the STM

Question 20

features of the episodic buffer

Answer 20

coding: all types of information
capacity: limited (~4 chunks)

Question 21

research evidence supporting the WMM - interference tasks

Answer 21

Baddeley (1975) used ‘interference tasks’ to measure performance as participants were asked to perform 2 tasks simultaneously
performance was much better when the tasks where not using the same processing
suggesting that the VSS and PL exist as separate systems and the capacity of the VSS can be overwhelmed with visual information - evidence for different STM stores

Question 22

case study of KF

Answer 22

Shallice and Warrington (1970) investigated clinical case of KF
found that he has a selective impairment to his verbal STM caused by a brain injury
however the visual functioning of his STM is not affected
suggests that PL and VSS subsystems are separate processes located in separate brain regions

Question 23

research study supporting WMM - brain imaging

Answer 23

Prabhakaran et al (2000) used brain imaging FMRI scans to investigate STM
researchers asked PPs to complete tasks with equal amounts of spatial and verbal info
condition 1: spatial and verbal information was separate
condition 2: information was integrated
condition 1: more activity in the posterior brain regions
condition 2: more activity in the prefrontal cortex
suggests the EB exists in the prefrontal cortex which specialises in the combination and temporary storage of visual and auditory information

Question 24

research evidence supporting WMM - word length effect

Answer 24

Baddeley (1975) visually showed participants word lists and asked them to write it down in the same order
condition 1: monosyllabic words
condition 2: polysyllabic
found that participants could recall more monosyllabic words than polysyllabic words
suggests that the capacity of PL is not the number of distinct items but by the time it takes to say the word (~2words) - known as the word length effect

Question 25

evaluations of the WMM

Answer 25

• CE criticised for being a vague concept without a full explanation of its function - Baddeley included the EB to compensate for this
  + WMM more accurate in describing memory as an active processor compared to MSM which sees STM as a passive store - called working memory not STM
  + lab experiments - highly controlled with strong internal validity - highly replicable
• lab experiments - lacks external validity and mundane realism as it is unrealistic and artificial so may not be generalised to real life
• inferences are made due to inability to observe processes of memory - assumptions about cognitive processes could be wrong